April 10, 2008

But what I want to know is whether, when she said that, a whole lot of painted, skinny guys in thongs rushed out and gyrated all around her 80s-style:

And then Elton John said: "I never cease to be amazed at the misogynist attitude of some of the people in this country. I say to hell with them."

Geezer John is a whole lot less fun than the youngish John in the "I'm Still Standing" video, which is exactly the sort of thing feminists of the time would deplore. And now he's grown up into one of those people who deplore things.

No, Elton John's gift in kind to Hillary is another example of how her campaign is entangled with foreign interests: from her chief strategist's lobbying for Columbia to a Brit's performing on her behalf to Bill's raising $130 million dollars from a Canadian mining baron with whom he flew to Kazakhstan to introduce to their leaders -- and who eventually got the right to mine uranium there.

No matter your party affiliation, vote for a candidate not beholden to foreign interests.

And then Elton John said: "I never cease to be amazed at the misogynist attitude of some of the people in this country. I say to hell with them."

Which people? Did he name names?

When she heard his remark, did HRC defend her fellow Americans, or was her silence tacit agreement? Did HRC find EJ's statement to be offensive, and refuse to take the money he raised? Or did she smile and pocket the money?

Does EJ have nay qualms about selling his CDs to misogynists, or has he decided to take the moral high ground by ending all sales of his CDs and DVDs in the US?

How has his love for the departed Princess Diana been able to overcome the misogyny of Prince Charles? Or does he despise his countryman as much has he despises Americans?

And then Michael_H said: "I'll never, ever buy another one of the poofter's CDs. Screw him."

Liberal Dems have adopted this very unappealing persona. It reminds me of the ultra-thin daily runner who nibbles on mini-pretzels at lunch and takes the stairs at the office after running 5 miles that morning. Can they ever kick back and truly enjoy themselves?

which is exactly the sort of thing feminists of the time would deplore.

Sure, Ann, I remember it well. We were all up in arms over it. But I was too wrapped up in the Stop Benny Hill! campaign to raise the alarm over a poncey closet queen patting a woman's ass in a bad video.

I wonder if his Thatcher song could be considered misogynistic. Ya think?

Can you hear it in the distanceCan you sense it far awayIs it old Rudolph the reindeerIs it Santa on his sleighIt's heading up to EasingtonIt's coming down the TyneOh it's bloody Maggie ThatcherAnd Michael Heseltine

[Chorus:]So merry Christmas Maggie ThatcherMay God's love be with youWe all sing together in one breathMerry Christmas Maggie ThatcherWe all celebrate today'Cause it's one day closer to your death

They've come to raid your stockingsAnd to steal your Christmas pudBut don't be too downheartedIt's all for your own goodThe economic infrastructureMust be swept awayTo make way for call centresAnd lower rates of pay

[Chorus]

And they've brought their fascist boot boysAnd they've brought the boys in blueAnd the whole Trade Union CongressWill be at the party tooAnd they'll all hold hands togetherAll standing in a line'Cause they're privatising SantaThis merry Christmas time

With just a little work, Elton could become what Florence King has called a "misanthrope of the naked intellect", which has its origins in honesty and its basis in logic, one who "hates people straight down the line with no exceptions and no regrets ".

This is entirely less destructive than the "tender misanthrope" Elton evinces in his comment, who favor barbarism over tradition and virtue, "The noble savages, simple peasants, and wailing hysterics Rousseau enshrined are now the dominant force in American life -hugging each other, finding their inner child, and letting unleashed emotions wash over them in today's version of the verdant canopy: The professional talk show" with its cheapness, tawdriness, and utter lack of class".

"Where do you get these "feminists deplore" fantasies?" From having lived through the era, read a lot, and been surrounded by people who were strong feminists. There was a strong feminist movement at the UW Law School at the time. I read and listened to the feminists of the 1980s period, and I wrote things myself that were in that genre. I have written articles that have been assigned materials in women's studies classes. So I was one of the deplorers myself. You could look it up.

The fundraiser was in NYC. Foreign nationals are unable to contribute to a campaign. Even Hillary's. I wish it were possible for you to appreciate how abysmally stupid this remark was. But I understand it was about a Clinton, and like many that naturally turns your brain into conspiratorial jello.

Its not really a complete thought unless we get Bernie Taupin's as well. I mean if we are going to assign him any credibility based on his music. That's why we care what he thinks isn't it? His music. You know Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer. That's why his opinion is important, isn't it? (Birds chirp)

I don't think I was writing on the internet in the 80s. You could research my law review articles and see that I wrote things in the feminist genre that I'm talking about. Not about music videos, though if I'd been able to blog at the time, I would have.

Yes, I use Google to mean that all the time. If I recall correctly, a couple of years back the Google people made an effort to discourage us from doing that, so it became all the more appealing to me.

Ann, I'm yanking your chain, just a little reverse "feminists are so humorless" pranking. I found your "feminists would have deplored this" remark sort of silly, and particularly so in context of your "ruthlessly neutral" coverage of the campaign, which is turning out to be more toothless than ruthless, and not at all neutral.

I'm not dissing your feminist creds, just laughing a bit at how you manage to stuff almost all your Clinton coverage into a "feminists who like Clinton are hypocrites" box, whether it fits or not.

titus, the 80s were unfortunate in so many ways. The painted codpieces are just one of the many indignities. If I search my memory, it's all a blur of shoulder pads and Nagel prints. Thankfully, I stopped buying Elton John albums after Goodbye Yellow Brick Road; I must have missed his MTV years.

titus, I don't recall any of the videos of those songs, though. Other notable videos were Whitney's I wanna dance with somebody -- all that paint! And I guess I shouldn't've ignored Beat it, Billie Jean or Thriller. And Sledgehammer. And Take on Me. Girls just want to have fun.

I'm not dissing your feminist creds, just laughing a bit at how you manage to stuff almost all your Clinton coverage into a "feminists who like Clinton are hypocrites" box, whether it fits or not.

More like Ann fits all her feminist coverage into Clinton coverage.

Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly = Not sexists

Bill and Hillary Clinton = Single handedly ruined feminism. Why? She won't say, we can only guess that it was Hillary didn't consult with her whether or not to divorce, and presumably had the gall to pursue a elected political career at the age of 60.

It's 70 here in NYC and I am going home to visit my mother in Madison and she told me it is going to be a high of 35 on Saturday. That sucks.

Then I begin my cross country road trip-can't wait.

My Tibetan cleaners should be arriving soon. I have my daily affirmations book by the Dalai Lama sitting out to show my solidarity with their plight. It's the little things in life that I do like that that shows I am one with other cultures.

garage mahal: Elton John made a gift in kind to the HRC campaign, worth at least $250K according to my estimate. Let's see, how can I explain this to you: EJ is in the business of providing a service, the performance of music. In other words, people pay him to perform. Here, (follow closely now) Hillary's campaign did not pay EJ to perform, yet he performed anyway. Thus, his performance was a donation of his services. The value of the gift would be Elton's regular and customary fee for such a performance.

Now, what were Elton's services worth here? Elton's rates are not available on the web, but he will perform at corporate events and weddings. He holds concerts in 5000 seat auditoriums. Let's say Elton sells out your 5000 seat hall (reasonable) for an average ticket cost of $100 (conservative). Giving EJ half (conservative) would be $250K.

Further, as you may recall, HRC lent her campaign $5 million this year. HRC's tax return shows that last year, roughly half of Bill's income from speechifying came from foreign countries, over $6 million dollars. (HRC earned $150K from the Senate plus $300K from Simon and Schuster, so Bill's efforts are bringing in the lion's share of the Clinton's funds.) Unless she can trace her funds exclusively to US sources, some of her campaign funds thus come from foreign sources.

FLSCongratulations! That's quite a scoop Champ. Perhaps you missed the "Change Rocks" concert for The Obamas by Dave Matthews last Sunday that he did for free? Cute trick too is Obama's staff started handing out free tickets to it on a college campus just as Bill was about to speak to people in line waiting. Anyways, the rest of your post is boilerplate Clinton Derangement dribble I'm afraid. Unless you think proof of income is proof of illegality, then of course that might give us hints as to why "former" is in your pseudonym. She released her tax records just for you FLS, have at it and come back with a link and just maybe you can make it bigtime and get you back into law school!

gm: Unlike Elton John, Dave Matthews is an American citizen, so his performing for free raises no issues. Americans should be concerned that a significant portion of Hillary's wealth comes from foreign sources; this suggests her loyalty is likewise divided. Her chief strategist's shilling for Colombia until it became a political liability furthers that suggestion.

Unfortunately there is no smoking gun in her tax return; Bill's foreign earnings are listed merely as coming from "Canada/various countries." But even a Clintonista should wonder why Bill is whoring, excuse me, hiring himself out to so many foreign interests.

Beth,That quite makes my day; it really does. At the time during my college years in Omaha I knew exactly no one who listened to any of this, except for one dude in a record shop.

It's wonderful to find someone who appreciates that stuff. The rest of me may be rather disagreeable, but music might soothe even this savage breast. (I suppose that's a long way of saying maybe I'm not a complete jerk.)

Ah, '80s pop. I swear I nearly quit a job once over the number of times Rick Astley was in the rotation on a radio station my employer insisted on blaring.

Beth & Pogo: Oh, yeah! But, not surprisingly, I listened to a whole bunch of other stuff, too, willingly and/or unwillingly. I consider it a form of promiscuity, truth be told, or maybe eye-poking. In any case, I certainly knew better, having been a recent alumna of college radio, back then.

Also, huh: I was picturing you as older than I, Pogo, when it's apparently the opposite. No offense intended.

Hey, the 80's were fucking awesome. Best decade with the best President ever. The debate is over. Yeah shoulder pads were dumb but I'll take 80's fashion over the homeless look and pants down to the ankles so prevalent with the teenage dorks today.

The music wasn't filled with whiney angst either. Possibly because it reflected the positive outlook of people at the time rather than the constant liberal whining over impending doom of Reagan initiated nuclear warfare.

The music wasn't filled with whiney angst either. Well, I don't know that this applies across the board, but in any case ... that era quickly birthed Nirvana, for example. Some people I know nurse a grudge over that.

Garage - "Foreign nationals are unable to contribute to a campaign. Even Hillary's. I wish it were possible for you to appreciate how abysmally stupid this remark was."

Not so stupid. The first and the biggest 527 groups were formed around funding from foreign nationals. These sources of "not-campaign funding" dwarf all the other campaign donations. IMS. I might be wrong, but I think the relative numbers are correct.

Sir EJ only feels good about himself in mourning. Hillary - be afraid.

Style CouncilRoxy Music-love Brian big FerryYaz-Don't Go!!!Fun Boy ThreeOingo BoingoBlondieTom Tom ClubSylvester-God rest her soulB-52's-God rest Ricky Wilson's soulNomi-God rest her soulBronski BeatQueen-of course-Freddy Mercury was amazingPet Shop Boys-of course-I was like 15 when West End Girls came out and I was in heaven.

Now I am also listening to Bright Eyes-that are pretty anti-Bush-thought that might not fly with the Pogs.Also REM's new CD is great.So is B-52's.I like Hole quite a bit too. I was listening to Violet during the gym today. Doll Parts is a great song too. Love Courtney Love-she has nice tits.

Ahh, the 80's. A great time for music! Corelli and Buxtehude and Henry Purcell and Lully. And the decade saw the birth of some blockbuster acts, like JS Bach and Händel and Rameau and Telemann and hell even Scarlatti, though he was totally light pop, wrote some cute tunes.

One of my favorite albums is Two Rooms, all Elton John hits covered by other people. Best on there IMHO: a kick ass version of Levon - Jon Bon Jovi, with a most touching tribute on the inside paper thingie, Daniel - Wilson Phillips, a really cool version of Rocket Man - Kate Bush, beautiful rendition of Sacrifice - Sinead O'Connor, and hauntingly beautiful Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - Oleta Adams. Thank you Elton John, you little prick, and Bernie Taupin for a lifetime of wonderful music.